Notable Burials

NOTABLE BURIALS

Discover the notable Americans laid to rest in Christ Church Burial Grounds, including five signers of the Declaration of Independence.

Those with Marked Graves

The Burial Ground has 1,400 markers, including those of prominent Colonial and Revolutionary Era leaders. Over 2500 markers have disappeared due to erosion with time.

This is the final resting place of five signers of the Declaration of Independence, the founders of the U.S. Navy and many of America’s early medical pioneers. Grave markers include these famous and notable names from three centuries of American history:

George Ross (1730-1779): Judge, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Dr. Benjamin Rush (1746-1813): Physician, social reformer, Treasurer of the United States Mint, signer of the Declaration of Independence, founder of Dickinson College, "The Father of American Psychiatry"

Major William Jackson (1759-1828): Revolutionary War officer, Secretary of the Constitutional Convention in 1787

Sarah Franklin Bache (1737-1811): Daughter of Benjamin and Deborah Franklin, Founder of The Ladies' Association, leading fundraisers during the Revolutionary War

Joseph Hewes (1730-1779): Secretary of Naval Affairs, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Dr. Philip Syng Physick (1768-1837): Known as the “Father of Modern Surgery”

Major General George Cadwalader (1806-1879): Civil War General

William M Meredith (1799-1873): Lawyer, State Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury

Michael Hillegas (1729-1804): First Treasurer of the United States

Commodore William Bainbridge (1774-1833): Commander of Old Ironsides

Joseph Hewes (1730-1779): Secretary of Naval Affairs, signer of the Declaration of Independence

Sarah Knowles (1721): Oldest known marker in the burial ground

Edward W. Clay (1799-1857): Political cartoonist

John Dunlap (1747-1812): Printer of the first broadside of the Declaration of Independence, publisher of the first daily newspaper

John G. Watmough (1793-1861): United States Congressman, served as First Lieutenant in the War of 1812

Franklin Watkins (1894-1972): Painter, served in the US Navy during World War I

Dr. Thomas Bond (1713-1784): Physician, founded Pennsylvania Hospital

Julia Stockton Rush ( 1759-1848): Wife and daughter of signers of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Ladies' Association

John Spurrier (1746-1798): Author of Practical Farmer

John Taylor (1718-1803): Burial Ground grave digger for over 50 years

Richard Folwel (1768-1814): Newspaper publisher and printer of the first collection of laws of the United States, commonly known as the “Folwel Edition”

Joseph Dolby (1741-1816): Sexton and bell ringer for Christ Church

James Humphreys (1748-1810): Printer and publisher of The Pennsylvania Ledger

Richard Thomson (1799-1824): Consul from the United States to Canton

Those Without Stones

In 1864, Christ Church warden Edward Lyon Clark compiled a book of visible inscriptions on the fading soft marble markers. Most of these inscriptions have disappeared over time. The Edward Clark Inscription book has been reprinted and is available for sale for $40.00 at Christ Church and the Christ Church Burial Ground.

We may never know where the following people are buried in our Burial Grounds, but we honor their memory. The following is a list of some of those “without stones”: